The boundaries for the three county commissioner districts in Flathead County have been adjusted to accommodate population shifts reflected in the 2010 census.

Commissioner districts are supposed to contain as nearly an equal number of residents as possible, Flathead County Deputy Attorney Peter Steele said. The goal is to also have somewhat equal land area in districts, he said, but that’s not completely possible because Flathead County contains the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier National Park. Those huge swaths of federal lands skew the land area of the county’s commissioner districts, he said.

Commissioner boundaries affect who can run for office in any particular district, but not who voters cast ballots for. People must live in a particular district in order to run for that commissioner spot. But all county voters vote for all commissioners.

The biggest change to boundaries occurred in the Lower Valley, along the Flathead River, Commissioner Pam Holmquist said.

Most of that valley used to be in District 3, but is now part of District 2, which is the district Holmquist represents.

The “bluff between U.S. 93 North, West Reserve Drive and U.S. 2” was moved into District 1, which is Commissioner Jim Dupont’s district, Holmquist said.

The “Somers strip” along the south side of Montana 82, remained in District 3, which is Commissioner Dale Lauman’s district. That section runs along the bottom of District 2.

The boundary change “fixes the little spot near Essex” which had previously been split into both districts 1 and 2, Steele said.

The boundary changes result in District 1 now being home to 29,980 residents, up from 28,419 people who lived there a decade ago. It covers 2,408 square miles.

 District 2 is home to 30,601 residents, up from 25,948 a decade ago. It contains 1,751 square miles.

District 3 now contains 30,372 residents down from 36,060 residents. It covers 1,094 square miles. 

The updated boundary maps can be viewed on the county’s website at http://maps.flathead.mt.gov. Under the table of contents tab that shows up on the right side of the page, click on “boundaries,” and check the “commissioner district” box.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.